The Bachelor couple Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell have addressed speculation Matt's single mother, Patty, will be competing on The Golden Bachelor this fall.

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The Golden Bachelor just announced its star, Gerry -- a 71-year-old widowed father of two girls from Indiana -- earlier this week, and rumors have been swirling that Patty will be one of his bachelorettes.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

When asked about Patty's alleged participation in ABC's senior spin off, Matt and Rachael played coy, according to Us Weekly.

"I keep getting that question, like, if someone knows something, 'Let me know!'" Matt teased.

And Rachael confirmed, "We truly, truly, truly don't know. We don't know if she's on it or not."

The Golden Bachelor is set to air on Monday nights at 10PM ET/PT this fall, but the show's official premiere date and cast of bachelorettes have yet to be formally announced by ABC.

Even though Matt and Rachael claim to not know any details or specifics, Rachael said she's "very excited to see whatever happens."

"I'm really excited for Gerry," The Bachelor 25 winner from Atlanta continued.

"I think he's going to be a great Bachelor. I mean, he seems like the absolute perfect candidate, so I'm really excited to watch."

Rachael also said she's "rooting for love" for Patty -- who raised two boys herself in North Carolina after divorcing Matt's father Manny -- "whether it's on TV or off."

And Matt concluded that he "just wants [his] mom to be happy."

Matt and Rachael fell in love on The Bachelor's 25th season, which aired in early 2021.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  

Matt selected Rachael as his winner on The Bachelor, but they briefly split in February 2021 during Rachael's memorable racism controversy, which resulted in former The Bachelor host Chris Harrison and ABC agreeing to part ways.

But Rachael was extremely apologetic, and so she and Matt reconciled in April 2021 and have seemingly been inseparable ever since.

Rachael and Matt have been traveling together and love trying new restaurants, and so many fans are anticipating their engagement in the near future.

Gerry, meanwhile, appears to be a nice and handsome man who thinks it's "never too late to fall in love again."

When asked what he's looking for in a woman, Gerry said, "I would love to find a partner who is high energy, and someone that maybe plays Pickleball or someone that maybe plays golf."

Gerry had married his high school sweetheart, Toni, and they were together for 43 years. The pair welcomed two daughters together, but in 2017 -- just six weeks after she retired -- Toni became sick and passed away.

"We always told each other, 'When one of us goes, we want the other one to be happy,'" Gerry shared on Good Morning America earlier this week. "She's up there rooting [for me]."

Gerry's daughters had apparently nominated Gerry for The Golden Bachelor and urged him to sign up for it.

On The Golden Bachelor, Gerry will be given a second chance at love and will search for a partner with whom to share "the sunset years of life," according to ABC.

"The women arriving at the mansion have a lifetime of experience, living through love, loss and laughter, hoping for a spark that ignites a future full of endless possibilities. In the end, will our Golden man turn the page to start a new chapter with the woman of his dreams?"

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The Golden Bachelor has been in the works for quite some time.

ABC's desire to film a senior edition of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette was first teased in early 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic seemed to delay producers' plans.

However, ABC executive Robert Mills assured fans in May 2022 that the long-mentioned spinoff would eventually come to fruition.

"The senior citizens show is definitely going to happen at some point," Mills told Variety at the time.

"The response to that is so massive every time we put up a casting call, so I think it's definitely coming sooner rather than later."

A casting notice for the seniors project had originally appeared online in January 2020, disclosing that "producers of The Bachelor" were looking for single men and women age 65 or older.

However, the casting notice didn't reveal what network was attached to the show or whether it would be an actual spinoff of The Bachelor franchise.

And then a commercial break that aired during Peter Weber's season of The Bachelor in February 2020 featured former The Bachelor host Chris Harrison saying in a voiceover, "Looking for love in your golden years?"

"We're looking for eligible seniors who want their shot at love," Chris continued. "To nominate someone or apply, go to abc.com/casting."

Upon visiting the show's casting page at the time, producers called the "exciting" new project a "new dating show for seniors" and were looking for older "active and outgoing single men and women" who were looking "for a committed relationship."

After the episode of Peter's season aired, ABC reality chief Robert Mills tweeted, "#Bachelornation give us your Grumpiest Old Men, give us your Goldenest Girls. #TheBachelor."

"To be clear," he added, "this is [age] 65 [and up]."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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